At WrestleMania XXIX, a Lesnar-Ryback showdown was nothing short of promising. Ryback was on the fast track to WWE superstardom. He started out hot with a six-month win streak, and WWE went out of its way to keep him strong even in defeat.

A win over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania was all he needed to be established as a top star.

Ryback has been so damaged as a heel, a face turn will not get him to the level he needs to be to warrant a big-time match against Lesnar.

A Ryback-Lesnar match would make sense per storyline. There is no bigger Paul Heyman guy, both literally and figuratively, than Brock Lesnar. It would only make sense that Ryback's ongoing rift with Heyman leads to a feud with Brock Lesnar.

But when considering what Ryback has become—a failed monster heel whose inability to do Heyman's bidding makes him more of a henchman—Ryback-Lesnar cannot possibly have the allure that it once did.

With Ryback presented as an underachiever who could not carry out Heyman's wishes, what would a win over Brock Lesnar say about Brock? At this point, even a Ryback win—the feel-good finish at WrestleMania with the babyface going over—helps nobody.

Ryback's character needs to be severely rehabilitated before talk of a WrestleMania dream match with anybody, let alone Lesnar. With the damage that has already been done, is Ryback even worth fixing?